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Read. Follow. Verify.The OPTIONS Act of 2023: Mental Health Coverage Changes
Record date · December 17, 2024
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What This Bill Would Do
This bill allows high- health plans to cover up to $500 of mental health services before a patient has to pay their annual deductible. This change aims to remove financial barriers to initial mental health care for people with these specific insurance plans.
If passed, this law would allow individuals with high- health plans to access mental health services without first paying out-of-pocket costs up to $500, potentially lowering the immediate financial burden for those seeking mental health support starting in 2024.
- High-deductible health plans are insurance policies that typically require the policyholder to pay a significant amount of medical expenses out-of-pocket before the insurance coverage begins. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
High-deductible health plan enrollees
These individuals may receive coverage for the first $500 of mental health services without meeting their deductible.
Health insurance providers
Providers must adjust their plan structures to accommodate the new safe harbor for mental health services.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this bill apply to all health insurance plans?
How much of my mental health care will be covered before I hit my deductible?
When would this change take effect?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently filed. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Committee.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mental Health Parity Adjustment
The bill represents a targeted effort to treat mental health services differently than other medical services within high-deductible health plans by exempting them from standard deductible requirements.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.congress.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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